Care at end of life isn’t being properly managed, says ombudsman

Terminally ill people are enduring painful and distressing deaths through failure by the NHS in England to properly manage care at the end of life, says a report from the parliamentary and health service ombudsman.1

The ombudsman service said that its investigations into complaints about the care received by patients nearing death had uncovered “tragic cases where people’s suffering could have been avoided or lessened with the right care and treatment as they approached the end of their lives.”

Clinicians failed in some cases to recognise that people were dying, noted the report, Dying without Dignity, which was based on complaints that had gone to the ombudsman after they were unable to …